Awareness of Nutritive Value of Cultured Fish among Inhabitants of Selected Peri-Urban Local Government Areas in Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract

Cultured fish represents a good percentage of fresh fish consumed in Nigeria. Fish consumption is relatively high in the southern part of the country, unlike the northern part, where there is low consumption of cultured fish. This may be attributed to many factors including but not limited to availability, distribution and information on the nutritive value of cultured fish. This study investigated the awareness of nutritive value of cultured fish among inhabitants of selected peri-urban local government areas in Katsina State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty (120) copies of structured questionnaires were administered out of which 108 representing 90% were retrieved and analysed using descriptive statistics and logistics regression. The majority of the respondents were males (88.9%), with the age range of 40 - 49 years. Among the sampled population, 46.3% had a tertiary education with civil service being the dominant occupation (25.9%), while over 50% earned a monthly income of less than ? 30,000. The majority (95.4%) of the respondents consumed cultured fish but the larger percentage (55.4%) consumed it occasionally, although 67.6% of the population was aware of the nutritive value of cultured fish. The regression analysis showed that sex had a coefficient of -1.117, odds value of 0.327 and Z-score of 4.142, which was significant at 5% level, while age and income were significant at 10% level. Despite the fact that the awareness of the nutritive value of cultured fish in the study area was on the high side, consumption was still low and mainly occasional. Sex, age and income were observed to be factors determining the awareness level of the nutritive value of cultured fish in periurban areas of Katsina State, Nigeria.